On Dec. 2, the Santa Barbara City Council will consider what may be the most consequential land-use decision of the century: whether to approve a complex 110-page redevelopment agreement for Paseo Nuevo.

This proposal would reshape the heart of our downtown — physically, financially and culturally for decades.

And yet, we are poised to make this decision with a City Council that will soon turn over three seats, without a clear mandate from the community, and without fully addressing the interconnected issues of downtown revitalization, the State Street closure, housing feasibility and the long-term fiscal health of our city.

This is precisely why I believe — firmly and unapologetically — that the future of Paseo Nuevo must be placed on the November 2026 ballot. Let the voters decide.

City in Transition

Santa Barbara is at an inflection point. Over the next year, we will see new leadership, new ideas and new perspectives join the City Council.

Decisions of this magnitude — handing over publicly owned land, redefining downtown housing density and determining the fate of State Street — deserve broad public buy-in, not a rushed approval designed to satisfy an artificial timeline.

City Administrator Kelly McAdoo has worked diligently to defend the agreement, but even during a recent interview on a local podcast, several concerning themes emerged:

  • The Paseo Nuevo plan may yield as few as 24 affordable units, despite years of public messaging that promised 80.
  • The city would transfer valuable public land to a private investment consortium, effectively giving away tens of millions of dollars of public asset value.
  • Members of the Planning Commission and the Historic Landmarks Commission have raised serious concerns about bulk, scale and compliance with the city’s historic identity.
  • The Nordstrom building at the other end of the mall, is unaddressed.
  • Perhaps most troubling are the repeated statements of “if” and “AB Commercial could” from McAdoo, paired with the idea that we are in a “prisoner’s dilemma.”

When a city’s chief administrator tells us that we are negotiating from a place of weakness, the public should pause. That is not strategic leadership. That is capitulation.

Santa Barbara Does Not Need to ‘Give Up’

The narrative that “there is no Plan B” is a false choice. It presumes that the only path forward is to surrender leverage, rush approval and hope for the best.

I reject that premise. Santa Barbara is not a city of resignation.

We are a city of innovation, creativity and thoughtful problem-solving. We do not need to accept the notion that our downtown is “worthless” or that we must approve a flawed agreement out of fear that AllianceBernstein will walk away.

If AB Commercial wishes to renegotiate, as is implied by McAdoo’s own statements, then they will renegotiate.

Markets shift. Commercial dynamics evolve. Public pressure works. We are not trapped. And frankly, the voters I speak with every day agree: we can do better.

Ballot Is the Only Responsible Path

Putting the Paseo Nuevo redevelopment on the 2026 ballot accomplishes several crucial objectives:

  • It aligns with new council leadership. Three new members will shape the future of Santa Barbara. They, and the voters who elect them, deserve a say in a decision that will outlast all of us.
  • It reopens the broader conversation about State Street. The closure of State Street and the future of Paseo Nuevo are inseparable. You cannot plan one without understanding the other.
  • It restores public trust. Public land decisions must happen with the people, not to them.
  • It provides negotiating strength. A voter mandate gives the city far more leverage than a rushed agreement built on fear of what AB Commercial “could” do.

A Vote Is Good Governance

    Opponents of a ballot measure argue that waiting until 2026 will kill the deal. But if a project collapses simply because Santa Barbara insists on transparency and public participation, then it was never a good deal to begin with.

    We are not in a “prisoner’s dilemma.” We are in a moment of opportunity, if we choose to take it.

    Let’s do the responsible thing. Let’s put Paseo Nuevo on the November 2026 ballot.
    Our downtown deserves nothing less.

    Nicholas Sebastian is a Santa Barbara community leader and candidate for City Council District 6. A veteran technology consultant, longtime Santa Barbara school district administrator and nonprofit founder, he has spent decades championing responsible planning that protects Santa Barbara’s heritage while preparing for the future. The opinions expressed are his own.